Starc retires from T20 internationals

AP

Brisbane, Sept. 3: Veteran Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has retired from Twenty20 international cricket in a bid to extend his career in the test and one-day formats.

Starc and test skipper Pat Cummins, two members of Australia's long-serving pace bowling triumvirate, were missing from the national T20 squad announced Tuesday for a three-game series in New Zealand starting Oct. 1.

The 35-year-old Starc, who took 79 wickes in 65 T20 internationals for Australia, said test cricket was his priority and he needed to prepare for an intense international schedule over the next two years.

Cummins has been rested since the test series in the Caribbean last month and has experienced some lower back pain, limiting his preparation for the Ashes series against England starting in November.

Starc wants to be at full fitness for the Ashes and test series in India next year and the next ODI World Cup in 2027, and decided something had to give.

"I have loved every minute of every T20 game I have played for Australia, particularly the 2021 World Cup — not just because we won but the incredible group and the fun along the way," he said. "Looking ahead (T20 retirement) is my best way forward to remain fresh, fit and at my best for those campaigns.

"It also gives the bowling group time to prepare for the T20 World Cup in the matches leading into that tournament."

Starc has been instrumental in Australia's success, and is second on the list of all-time wicket-takers for the national team in the T20 format. The left-arm paceman's full-length deliveries have cemented his reputation as a strike bowler.

"Mitch should be incredibly proud of his T20 career for Australia. He was an integral member of the 2021 World Cup winning side and, as across all his cricket, had a great skill for blowing games open with his wicket taking ability," Australia selection chairman George Bailey said. "We will acknowledge and celebrate his T20 career at the right time, but pleasingly he remains focused on continuing to play test and ODI cricket for a long as possible."

Pakistan’s Asif retires 

Pakistan batter Asif Ali retired from international cricket on Monday after 79 white-ball matches in a career often criticized for being too carefree.

The 33-year-old Asif represented Pakistan in 58 Twenty20s and 21 one-day internationals. His T20 highlight was 25 off seven balls during a win over Afghanistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

His last international was at the 2023 Asia Games. The middle-order power-hitter scored 577 runs in T20s with a top score of 41 not out against Zimbabwe in 2018. In ODIs, he made 382 runs with 21 sixes and 22 fours. His last ODI was against Australia in 2022.

"Wearing the Pakistan jersey has been the greatest honour of my life and serving my country on the cricket field has been my proudest chapter," Asif said on X.

"To my family and friends, who stood with me in moments of joy and in the deepest of trials, including the loss of my beloved daughter during the World Cup, your strength carried me forward."